engleski

Bacterial-feeding nematodes as pathogens in cultivated mushrooms

Bacterial-feeding nematodes belong to the saprophytic group and they appear in abundant populations in beds of cultivated mushrooms. They multiply quickly and participate in spread of bacterial blotch on sporophores. Bacterial- feeding nematodes may cause distortion of mushrooms and very poor yields or total crop failures. Nematodes may be chemically controlled only prior mushroom cultivation, by disinfection of peat and pasteurization of compost. This study examined nematode population density and impact of bacterial- feeding nematodes on white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). Nematodes were extracted from samples of compost (spawned with A. bisporus strain F56 Italspawn and not spawned) casing material and distorted mushrooms. The samples were collected during production cycle of A. bisporus from two mushroom farms in Serbia. Nematodes were extracted only from peat samples, while compost was found to be sterile. Prior casing, nematode populations density from peat samples was low (below 10 nematodes per 100 mL peat). In average 630 nematodes per peat sample were recovered 32 days after casing the compost. Caenorhabditis was the most dominant genus found in all samples ranging from 100 to 510 nematodes per sample. Nematodes of the family Cephalobidae comprised second the most dominant group, ranging from 50 to 150 nematodes per sample. Other saprophytic nematodes detected were identified as Acrobeloides, Heterocephalobus, Panagrolaimus, Plectus and diplogasterids. From the peat collected 46 days after casing the compost, in average of 880 nematodes per sample were detected. These samples were under suspicion for nematode infestation, since mushrooms grown on this peat were distorted. Only Caenorhabditis sp. was recovered, ranging from 490 to 1500 nematodes per sample. Nematode from genus Caenorhabditis were also found from the samples of distorted mushrooms, in average of 10 nematodes per 100 g mushrooms. The population dynamics of bacterial- feeding nematodes reveal that during cultivation process this group became dominant, indicating that the conditions in mushroom beds are optimal for their reproduction and survival. Caenorhabditis sp. should be considered as major threat in mushroom cultivation, since these nematodes survived pasteurization of compost, disinfection of casing material and sanitation measures on farms ; they caused distortion of mushrooms and rapidly multiplied in very abundant populations.

Caenorhabditis sp. ; the white button mushroom ; distortion ; peat

nije evidentirano